Neutral Labs Queen Elmyra – Kickstarter is live

The Lounge Other Gear
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This business about paraphonic makes me wonder if this couldn’t operate like a Pearl Syncussion, Fors Dyad, or DFAM (which I admittedly know less about)?

AFAIK the Syncussion is just externally triggered. Fors Dyad seems to be all about inter-voice modulation, some of which would be possible on Queen Elmyra (although it’s obviously not your regular drum synth). If you’re looking for something DFAM-like, which relies heavily on parameter changes per step, Scrooge would be worth a look. And btw I’ve been known to have uttered the words “King Scrooge” before, make of that what you will. :wink:

There’s also an arpeggio mode on the new Cyma Forma that staggers across voices, which I think is pretty novel…

I haven’t looked into it, but is it round-robin? If so, that exists on the Vermona PerFourmer, Korg Mono/Poly, Akai Timbre Wolf, and will certainly be available on Queen Elmyra.

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I’ll keep a lid on my Scrooge theories for now, they’re too intriguing to get wrong
That said, how’s the build quality for the Queen? Do you think someone could count on it in a somewhat uncontrolled performance venue? Are screws gonna loosen inadvertently? Is it going to feel as sturdy as a stomp pedal? Will it be ruggedised, or will it have a similar lightness as the Elmyra 2?

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if anyone has a need for an extra kidney, i am willing to negotiate if the price is right. please, serious inquiries only, please dm if you have a need or know someone.

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It’s pretty sturdy and has some weight to it. Much more hefty than Elmyra 2, even when accounting for the bigger size. The panel wraps around to the front and back, and it’s 1.5 mm steel, which is more or less the default for many brand name synths. (We’ve thought about 2 mm, but opted against it in the name of sustainability, and there’s really no need to make it any more sturdy.) It’s attached with 6 screws, 3 on each side, and I don’t believe those would come loose. All sockets and metal potentiometers are secured with nuts against the front panel (instead of using threadless sockets), so plugging or unplugging cables won’t bend the PCB beneath, and neither will bumping into a pot. The massive amount of UI elements also obviously adds to the total weight.

Many synths have full metal enclosures. We went for a bamboo bottom part, also for sustainability reasons (and vibes). It’s basically U-shaped (so the sides and bottom), and quite thick. Think of a bamboo cutting board you’d use in your kitchen. This gives it a slightly different feel from, say, your Elektron boxes, but that is not to say lower in quality or weight. The bamboo is pretty massive and probably weighs around the same as or more than a metal bottom plate.

Pedals are usually cast metal, not sheet metal, which makes sense, because they suffer much greater abuse by feet. So it doesn’t really feel like a pedal.

But here are some synths I know well that I’d rate to be comparable to the Queen in build and sturdiness: Peak, Summit, Sub37, Perfourmer, Pro-2, Prophet reissue. Maybe you know one or some of them. Otherwise feel free to name some that you know, and I may be able to compare. Hope this helps!

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That helps plenty!
I dare say bamboo weighs in as a very durable material. Bicycle handlebars take turbulent impact and protect ligaments. Cutting boards won’t warp the way a wooden board does. Kudos for making a sustainable decision.

I wish I had more hands on experience with any of those synths, nonetheless I’ve certainly witnessed them in many stage settings.

I did look up the arpeggio on the Alt. It’s more like a sequencer, although there are now 4 different MIDI modes.

It’s a matrix destination, the only one without its own direct knob or fader, that uses the source modulation amplitude levels to trigger voices in different orders. Divisions are contingent on the mod frequency.

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Sounds like a neat idea. We’ll look into it, possibly for a later firmware update. Right now the focus is on getting the thing out the door.

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Because I’m entirely green when it comes to modular and semi-modular, perhaps any community member could jump in here:
There’s no distinct external audio in port, but from what you’ve shared, @nyppy, there are plenty junctions that can receive signal and won’t ask questions as to where it came from.

That said, what I’m really wondering is if EXT Audio can be used as an OSC source, not unlike noise, whereby it’s subject to the envelopes, processed through the filter, sent out through fx, by which those stages can be modulated and the like?

Not exactly a modular/carrier scenario, just a sound source

Are the voice inputs, for example, going to treat audio signal as CV, or is there a path in which ext audio can be heard and played/gated? Or is audio signal just privy to the fx section? Which connections will treat fluctuations in audio as CV signal?

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You can send external audio into the distortion, the main filter, and the main FX. If you want to mix external audio with what’s coming from the internal voices before going through the distortion/filter/FX chain, you can simply use the mix output: It will carry the sum of the internal voices, you can add your external audio either using any mixer/suitable module, or even just a passive mult (a couple will be included with Queen Elmyra) if your audio source has an output series resistor (by far most do nowadays). Then patch the result into the distortion to go through the chain normally.

Having external audio affected by an envelope would not work: The envelopes are analog, and they’re sent into the digital core, where you have the digital VCA. This core doesn’t have any ADCs to record external audio. The FX section resides on a separate core, and that one does have ADCs, so it’s feasible to make an “envelope” effect, where you could patch an ENV out into one of the FX CTL sockets, and apply that envelope to the audio. Not sure how universally useful that would be, but it’d be very easy to implement if there’s any interest.

The voice inputs are for GATE (which is not just on/off, but gradual, so the ENV control will basically apply a slew rate limiter to the input), PAN (stereo panning), CTL1, CTL2 (which are the controls for the per-voice effects) and WAV (the wavetable position). None of these are suitable for audio, as the ADCs used to read them are slower. They do go into the audio range, so you can do some interesting FM-like stuff, but it won’t reproduce high frequencies with good fidelity.

All CV inputs will accept audio, and the analog ones (distortion/main filter) can be used for analog FM, and will faithfully reproduce the effect of the modulator signal at the output. All digital ones are subject to the ADC sampling rate, so while FM is possible, some restrictions apply for high frequencies.

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To be sure ( a hardware synth is a big investment in my case) By “one channel per voice” does that imply that this synth would eventually be capable of MPE support?

I wonder if you have a demo of a standard midi in keyboard key tracking the Queen? Is this going to function in a performance setting as a potential polysynth? Legible chord spellings in a pad? Clear key center for a lead or bass? Playable and responsive soloing?

Btw, I’m really zero’ing on this beauty. It’s taking me some time to define the palate I’m going for in order to perform in bands and make the music that I like. There are enough “next big things” in the synth world, both vintage and of the latest, however I’m committed to defining a sound that represents what I like to play.

Having a blast with Elmyra 2, so I have a sense for how profound things can sound

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Yes, MPE support is absolutely on the table, though probably not in the initial firmware version.

No MIDI keyboard demo yet, but there will be. Right now the focus is on getting production rolling.

Yes, it will be possible to use it as a polysynth. I mean, there are endless possibilities in firmware when it comes to voice allocation. But to be fair, if that’s all you want it to be, it’s probably the wrong synth for the purpose. There are so many great polysynths already. The Queen is all about modulation by patching and setting up voices in creative ways. :wink:

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I respectfully disagree about there being better options out there, although I greatly appreciate that you are not selling folks on the idea, but rather doing a stand-up job of delivering the specifications and not “putting spin on the ball”.

I think queen elmyra could be a great primary hardware poly synth.

First off, it’s in the ballpark price for what you’re getting with vintage or boutique analog synths, albeit one is making a value judgement on choosing digital wave tables.

For a similar price, I don’t see other manufacturers offering any more hardware ports without it reflected in the price, of which Queen Elmyra falls well within the pack.

Second, many of us agree with your aesthetic, such that other synths might sound lush, but somehow boring. And large soundscapes isn’t everything if you’re trying to fit something into a mix or to find a niche with other instrumentalists, or to go through an amp, say. And the Queen can do wide, for sure.

You have huge symphonic width if you need it, alongside separate outputs, which you don’t get with most other poly synths.

Unlike most other poly synths, you get external inputs and patch points.

Yes, instead of an internal mod matrix you get patch points, which could go either way: you seemingly get flexibility, but you do run out of assignments once that cable fills a space.
You think some modulation could be represented in the menus?

And you do get a preset system, albeit that modulation would not be represented without the cables in place.

You get effects, which unlike most poly synths can be applied towards incoming audio if you wish.

How do they sound, by the way? Sinevibes phaser on Typhon and Artemis, for example are way useable. Am I going to use your implementation of fx? Are there pedals or modules I’d compare them to?

And you get an analog saturation stage. Also modulatable, right?

It’s sturdy, compact, and appeals to anyone with a more functioning keyboard already, such that you’re getting more musical expression in a gig worthy setup.

Not to mention the sound palette might be the one that I prefer over other synths. It’s broad enough to be expressive and offer a palette of color and applications, but not so broad as to loose its personality or focus. Not so digital as to be difficult to program, and not too analog as to be yet another tribute to the Blade Runner movie (which is totally cool and all, but still)

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That’s very kind, thank you! There will be a mode where you can basically use any number of voices as a polysynth, and control them with the controls (and CV inputs) of the first of those voices. So you could e.g. use voices 1-4 as a 4-voice polysynth, voices 5-6 as a monosynth each, and voices 7-8 as modulation sources.

Definitely. In the initial version probably something like a dedicated internal LFO/mod sequencer per voice (sacrificing one of the two per-voice effects, so you can control it with the knob and CV input). But with future firmware updates, possibilities are endless.

You can get some idea of the FX by listening to the effects on Luna. The ones on the Queen are derived from the same code, but they’ll have higher sample rates and bit depth. Also, the Queen will have more FX than are currently present on Luna.

Yes, basically everything can be modulated on the Queen. The tube saturation/drive can be modulated either as a single stereo effect, or left/right individually, as can the main VCF and FX. And those don’t have to be used as left and right channels either, by patching you can set up a more complex FX chain (which would then be at least partly mono).

I love that. Are you looking for a side gig as a part time copywriter by any chance? :smiley:

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I imagine, “left and right” could be split high and low, for example. However you cut it, it’s really interesting to have stereo saturation. It’s a great doubling effect and is mono comparable, due to the subtle differences.

As for a previous comment, I should not be the first person to second my suggestion of an envelope stage for external audio, but yes, I’d be interested in it if it did have to substitute for one of the fx slots as a digital envelope. Not a pressing matter, but I for one would be thankful for exploring it…that or perhaps a tremolo/filter multi stage sequencer